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HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Thousands of people busted in Connecticut for marijuana possession now have the right to get their convictions erased after the state Supreme Court ruled Monday that the violation had been downgraded to the same legal level as a parking ticket.

A U.S. senator from Pennsylvania on Monday called for measures to provide resources and training to first responders who handle crude oil train derailments. Under the legislative proposal, a task force on derailments would be created under the Federal Emergency Management Agency to make recommendations to the U.S. Congress for training and resources, Senator Bob Casey, a Democrat, said in a statement. "The increase in train derailments in Pennsylvania and throughout the nation is troubling and requires action," Casey, said. A series of derailments of trains loaded with crude oil in North America has heightened the focus on rail safety.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Madison's police chief on Monday defended a white officer who killed an unarmed biracial man this month, saying he's a caring person who has repeatedly helped members of the community and that people shouldn't rush to judgment without all the facts.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — Defense attorneys in the Colorado theater shooting case have again asked a judge to move the trial, saying most prospective jurors believe defendant James Holmes is guilty and can't set their opinions aside.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A timeline of key events in the life of Robert Durst, a member of a wealthy New York real estate family who was arrested in New Orleans on a murder warrant in his friend Susan Berman's 2000 death.

A "sticky-fingered suspect" was arrested on suspicion of robbing a Seattle doughnut shop of a single maple bar after threatening employees and implying he had a gun, police said on Monday. Police said a doughnut shop patron, after being asked to leave the doughnut shop on Sunday evening, told the cashier he was robbing the store, reached for his waistband as if he had a weapon there, and ordered staff to the back of the shop. As he rummaged around the store for a few minutes, the staff in the back called police, the Seattle Police Department said in a blog post that referred to the man a "sticky-fingered suspect." "After reviewing surveillance video, the store manager advised officers the suspect had pilfered a single maple bar during the robbery," Seattle police said.

NEW YORK (AP) — Coca-Cola is working with fitness and nutrition experts who suggest its soda as a treat at a time when the world's biggest beverage maker is being blamed for helping to fuel obesity rates.

By Tom Polansek CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. authorities are considering imposing tougher restrictions in Arkansas to contain a virulent strain of avian flu in the heart of America's poultry region in a bid to minimize international trade disruptions and contain the virus. The H5N2 flu discovered in Arkansas last week is the state's first case of a strain that causes massive internal hemorrhaging in poultry, can kill nearly every bird in an infected flock within 48 hours, and is prone to mutate. Such strains are sometimes called "chicken Ebola." In response, Arkansas is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to create new rules for commercial poultry producers and owners of backyard flocks alike, Reuters has learned. The rules will spell out how often poultry within a quarantine zone must test negative for bird flu before the quarantine can be lifted, Brandon Doss, Arkansas’ assistant state veterinarian, said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia will step down after five years on the job to return to private practice, he announced Monday, leaving behind a record of prosecutions for terrorism, public corruption and violent crime.

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — In early versions of a March 15 story about a man being charged in the shooting of two police officers in Ferguson, Missouri, The Associated Press erroneously reported that St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch said the defendant used a 40 mm gun in the attack. He said it was a .40-caliber gun.